1. Field of the Invention.
The present invention relates to dryers for photosensitive material, and specifically to a dryer apparatus which eliminates reflective artifacts.
2. Description of the Prior Art.
The processing of photosensitive materials typically require that the materials be saturated with various development chemicals. Once a sheet of photosensitive material has been exposed to such chemicals, it then must be dried uniformly for use in creating prints and copies of the images borne thereon.
Photosensitive material processors have been developed which feed a sheet of photosensitive material through the necessary chemicals in an orderly fashion and then dry the sheet for further use. Typically, this sheet is driven by engagement with various rollers to follow a desired processing path. Each sheet of photosensitive material will bear one or more unique photographic images, which are often incapable of being reproduced in exactly the same form. Thus, great care must be used in handling such sheets.
Prior art dryers for photosensitive material in sheet form have used various guides or supports to support the sheet as it passed from roller to roller. Air was blown at the sheet from blower outlets positioned between the rollers as it passed by to speed the drying process. Such guides or supports were found necessary in the dryer to keep the sheets of photosensitive material from being damaged by curling into the rollers or becoming misaligned. One method of supporting a sheet of photosensitive material between rollers was to provide a plurality of guide wires extending longitudinally along the sheet drying path (transversely to the rollers). Each roller was grooved to accommodate the wires passing by it.
A phenomena which existed in prior art processing and drying schemes was the creation of "reflective artifacts" (cosmetic blemishes) on the sheet of photosensitive material. Reflective artifacts can take the form of halos or lines which appear on the sheet, but which do onto affect the ultimate print made from that sheet of photosensitive material. Reflective artifacts detract from the appearance of the sheet of photosensitive material during processing and have resulted in dissatisfaction and resistence by users of such processing machines.
Reflective artifacts are apparently caused by disturbances in air flow patterns between the dryer inlets and the sheet of photosensitive material being dried. In prior dryers, these disturbances were caused by the various guides or supports (e.g., guide wires) which extended between rollers and created air flow turbulance between the sheet of photosensitive material and the blower inlets.